Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 242

My thread IS completely consistent and with all due respect, I think you miss the point.

Parenthetically, I did what I was told. On subsequent conversations with Handspring personnel, I was told they are instructed to tell people what parts to return and what not to. Nobody told me anything. Maybe that was because the idiot Tech I spoke to referred me to CS, who said it wasn't even his job to do and he couldn't understand why the Tech didn't do it himself. That's all my fault? I suppose from what you said, I'm supposed to be an expert in RMA processes with other electronic equipment. Actually, I'm 48. I can't EVER recall sending anything back to anyone but a Handspring Visor. That's quite a burden you impose. Yes, it would've been nice if i"d been 110% alert and picked up Handspring's slack--but it was still slack and they were the ones primarily guilty.

But all that is really besides the point. Say it's completely my fault. Does that make a difference? What if the battery had just worn out? What if it had been lost? What if it had been stolen? Now, can I have a new battery so I can get functioning again in a reasonable time? Ooops. I can't. It's not even a question of going through a different RMA process. They simply don't have ANY inventory on a relatively new product at all. It's all "back-ordered" they said. I.e., they don't much plan on supporting this product very aggressively any more.

No matter whose fault it was, the POINT of the thread, clearly, was that I cannot get a part that I need due to declining inventory in any reasonable time for a product that is virtually new and essential. The point is the down time after a problem occurs. The question is whether as time goes on it will be possible to get problems corrected on an essential product. As another poster noted, I guess if there's another failure, may as well just throw it away because you can't rely on HS to replace it at all in the future, let alone promptly. It would be different if this were a long in tooth product that had become obsolete....

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Last edited by Mark Squires on 11-13-2001 at 12:55 PM

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 242

Just for the record, it has now been over a month. ...... over a month.

Handspring has been unable to deliver me a battery in that entire time.

I've lost faith and confidence in the integrity of the company, frankly.

When it comes time to buy my next PDA, it won't be Handspring.

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Last edited by Mark Squires on 12-14-2001 at 06:18 PM

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 443

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mark Squires
Just for the record, it has now been over a month.

Handspring has been unable to deliver me a battery in that entire time.

I've lost faith and confidence in the integrity of the company, frankly.

When it comes time to buy my next PDA, it won't be Handspring.

---

Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Nebraska- the Good life
Posts: 695

quote:

---

Originally posted by mensachicken


yeah, i ordered a case from them on november 12th. web site said it was in stock. i still haven't received the damn thing. they say it shipped two weeks ago. they also said they'd refund my shipping cost for the trouble. i haven't received it. and there is no credit on my cc.

mc

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Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 443

Yeah, i called them yesterday. they tried to find a tracking number but, oops, the data they had was incorrect (the tracking number was too short, only 5 digits).

so now they've credited my credit card. however, it still means that i waited over a month for a case that their web site says was in stock when i ordered it and that i'd receive it in 5 days. and this is two weeks after i spoke with them and they said the order had just been shipped and all should be fine. ugh.

i had an even worse experience dealing with handspring's ebay department (the people selling the items via ebay). when they first started selling their VPs on ebay, they said that they'd ship to canada. i knew that HS was refusing to ship that item to Canada as i had tried to order one. (see thread "Handspring refusing to sell VP to Canadians").

so anyway, i email the ebay person and say "are you sure you'll sell to canada?" and she responds "sure. no problem." so i use "buy it now". long story short the seller emails me afterwards and says "sorry. my mistake. you were right. can't ship to canada."

end or story, right?

that's what i thought.

a few days ago i get a letter from ebay telling me that the seller has reported me as a non-paying bidder (you get three of these and you're banned from ebay).

i email the seller and tell her to respond within 24 hours and tell me what's going on. she doesn't.

so i email ebay with all my proof of what's going on (kept all her original emails).

i email the seller again and say "24 hours or else". no response.

i leave negative feedback on ebay for the seller, explaining the situation.

i email her again and say that in 24 hours i will start to post the story to other forums unless they straighten the prob out with ebay. (basically, my email to ebay puts it into an appeal mode. if she mails ebay, it would be over instantaneously.)

she finally writes me back and tells me it was all a misunderstanding. she DENIES that she told ebay that i was a non paying bidder. i write her back, including a forward of ebay's letter to me.

i request that she once again email ebay regarding my status.

24 hours later ebay emails me and says "based on the proof you sent us, you win."

and i still haven't heard from the seller at ebay.

talk about totally ignorant behaviour.

L.

Registered: Sep 2001
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
Posts: 123

Sorry for bad awful experience.

I, in general, believe Call Centres, Customer Services and such departments are useless. Often they're outsourced, so they don't know what's going on, how the product works, what to do next.

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 242

If you listen to companies talk about support functions, it is clear that they view the whole concept as a money-losing and irritating proposition. They wish they didn't have to do it at all. They are so ANNOYED at having to provide that service.

Yet, in areas not involving technology, if quality control were equally as poor, what would happen?

Let's say you buy a car. It has 14 defects in it. Is this your problem? Are you expected to figure it all out yourself? No. You invoke the warranty, take it the service station and have them fix it for free. Under the law of some states, if there are numerous and chronic defects, you can cancel the sale and get your money back for the car.

Now, let's talk about software companies. They put out sloppy code, often with KNOWN bugs. You're supposed to sit there and spend hours if not days trying to figure out the problem. Then, you call for support. You hang on the phone for half an hour long distance. Then you have some poorly trained technician who has you on the phone another hour. Sometimes in fact there is no real answer other than the fact that the software was poorly made.

Real story:

Bought software program for $39. After numerous tech support calls from Phila to West Coast during prime business hours, I had a long distance bill that exceeded the cost of the software. And still no answer to the problem.

Most recently, I found an awful bug in WIN XP. If you install XP and surf to a site, if that site later changes servers (and thus IP numbers), XP insists on going to the OLD ip numbers. It's embedded somehow, no one can figure out how. At this juncture, I cannot access my own web site from home for nearly three weeks. Microsoft has a bug that could collapse the internet as time passes. But I have spent a couple of hours on the phone with tech support, and in the middle of one call, I was disconnected by them and they didn't even bother to call me back. I call them back, and their response is: "Well, if you want us to call back when we disconnect you, you should tell us that at the beginning of the conversation."

If this were anything other than TECHNOLOGY would anyone accept this kind of nonsense? What other products do we buy that we just know will come with all sorts of defects we're supposed to live with?

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Registered: Mar 2001
Location: Nebraska- the Good life
Posts: 695

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mark Squires
If this were anything other than TECHNOLOGY would anyone accept this kind of nonsense? What other products do we buy that we just know will come with all sorts of defects we're supposed to live with?

---

Registered: Nov 2001
Location:
Posts: 7

The point is, HS service stinks. I have been a long term and strong proponent of HS, but after experiencing their service, I definitely won't buy another HS product. The antenna on my VP fell out - it didn't break off, it just got more lose with time and fell out after about 6 months of use. HS charges me $25 for the expidited order plus $100 to replace the phone. But what about the warrantee I ask. Nope, doesn't cover the antenna. HANDSPRING, your service and support of your warrantee is horrible. The only good point is that I'm in B-School and am seen as somewhat of a tech leader. I've been bad mouthing HS for their service now for a couple of weeks. They got my $100, but I will cost them at LEAST 10x that in lost sales.

Registered: Sep 2001
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
Posts: 123

At this moment I am looking for an alternative for my Prism + VP. I think I'm going for the Compaq Ipaq H3870 with Bluetooth. Add a Nokia 6210 or Ericson R520 and pronto...

I can get both cheaper thru work - good deal, so I'll probably ditch my HS and separate from the Palm OS world after some six years...

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 242

Hmm. I can't live without some form of PDA, but my interest in shopping around as sure increased.

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Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 242

After some six weeks, numerous emails, a letter dated December 8, --and a threat of a lawsuit by email Sunday night--Handspring finally got an upper level CSR involved and replaced the part. Odd, after a lawsuit was threatened I got a call from the Handspring CSR in 48 hours.

She was very nice and did all the right things. That it took so long, so much effort and so much aggravation is still kinda hard to deal with.

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Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Conway SC USA
Posts: 92

I also have had both my visor and the phone replaced. Both came in 24hrs. The phone came with an instruction sheet that said to TRANSFER the battery to the replacment. HS took good care of me.

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LARRY

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 242

I suppose that means you used the $25 program where you had the new phone shipped to you before you returned the old one--an offensive program in and of itself; they used to just take your CC. It's pretty obvious re: returning the battery if the new one comes without one. The original point remains the same, however: however lost, it took six weeks to replace a part, required a couple of dozen emails, several calls, a letter, and intervention by second level CSRs.

Just to replace a battery on an essential product.

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Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Conway SC USA
Posts: 92

Yea spending $25 to get a warranty replacement is wrong.But sometimes you just have to do whats needed.

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LARRY

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 242

True. It would be nice not to have a gun to my head, though.

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Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 1571

Why?

Why is the $25 charge offensive? This is a Premium service. If you want your item to arrive fast then you have the option to pay the $25 dollars. Otherwise you can get it replaced for free by sending it in and then wait for your replacement to arrive. The $25 covers the shipping charge to and from you...I doubt that Handspring is making any profits from this. They cannot afford to bleed anymore by continuing the overgenerous service they had in placed before.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mark Squires
I suppose that means you used the $25 program where you had the new phone shipped to you before you returned the old one--an offensive program in and of itself; they used to just take your CC. It's pretty obvious re: returning the battery if the new one comes without one. The original point remains the same, however: however lost, it took six weeks to replace a part, required a couple of dozen emails, several calls, a letter, and intervention by second level CSRs.

Just to replace a battery on an essential product.

---

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 242

>>Why is the $25 charge offensive?<<

surely you jest.

You have a repair. That assumes at the outset that it is most likely that there is a defect. You're entitled to a replacement. Maybe it's even under warranty and it's their product defect. And they're going to CHARGE you for that because you need to get up and running???? And you think that's fine?

What exactly am I being charged for? The answer: the ability to get a product before sending the old one back. That's the sole purpose of this charge. You mention shipping, but in my example--how much does it cost to ship a 4 0z. battery? Certainly not anything close to $25. The remainder is just pocketed. So, yep, it sure does seem to me that they are profiting.

They used to just take a credit card number and charge you if you failed to return. What's wrong with that?

This is just another nickel-and-dime fee that rakes people over the coals.

It's more than offensive. It demonstrates Handspring's willingness to take lack of customer service to a whole new level.

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Registered: Dec 2001
Location:
Posts: 11

I come from Singapore and we have atricious customer service here. Its sad to learn that even in the US, where I always thought the customer is supreme, that such issues also exist, and that it takes a threat of a lawsuit to push people to do something.

Wat ademoralizing situation for all the consumers out there